Judge Kearney was appointed by former Governor Jane Hull to the Pima County Superior Court bench in 2001. Judge Kearney currently serves as the Presiding Judge of Pima County Superior Court. Prior to that appointment, Judge Kearney served on the family law bench as its presiding judge. She has previously served on the criminal bench.

Born in Storm Lake, Iowa, Judge Kearney moved to Tucson in 1987. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1971, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1976. Before her appointment to the bench, Judge Kearney was a trial lawyer in private practice handling civil and criminal cases. In addition, she served as a prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office in Milwaukee and in Tucson. While in the Tucson U.S. Attorney’s Office, she also served as Chief of the Criminal Division of that office and as Border Liaison for the Department of Justice.